FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the wheel formats you offer?

CLINCHER

The most common & practical tyre format choice that lends itself to all types of cycling from training to racing. An inner tube sits inside the outer clincher tyre which can be repaired or replaced quickly at minimal cost in the event of a puncture. Ideal for TT/Triathlon, Road Racing & General riding. A huge choice of manufacturers.

TUBULAR

This tyre format is a complete tyre and inner tube system that must be glued onto the wheel using specialist rim cement. Once a tubular tyre is punctured it is usually discarded. This format therefore has the highest running costs and is less convenient. This is still the choice of most Professional Road teams. Ideal for Time Trials & Cyclocross. Not at all practical for day to day use.

TUBELESS / CLINCHER COMPATIBLE

The latest development in tyre formats. These tyres run without inner tubes and are very unlikely to puncture as the system involves the application of an internal flexible sealant when initially fitted. This format has dedicated Tubeless tyres, rim tapes & valves that are initially more time consuming to fit. Currently a limited choice of good Tubeless race tyres. Regular clincher tyres can also be used but only with the use of an inner tube. Suitable for all racing & General riding in their tubeless setup. When used with a regular clincher tyre it can be more difficult to change a puncture quickly, which can make them unsuitable for long course Triathlon events. racing cyclists would agree that traditionally tubulars have been regarded as the faster of the two, but in recent years pressure has been on manufactures to produce equivalent performing clincher tyres, some now having performance equalling rolling resistance. Clincher are more practical in terms of changing a puncture and cheaper to run as they often need only a new inner tube after a puncture, where as a tubular tyre is usually discarded at great cost. The penalty paid by using clinchers is their weight compared to tubulars. This weight penalty applies to the actual wheel rims also, resulting in a combined wheel/tyre penalty of around 300g + per pair. This wont make much difference over flat terrain in time trials or most triathlons but in a hilly time trial or road race with more climbing and accelerating involved, tubulars are likely to be a better choice. Therefore your typical event will determine which is best for you.

Clincher or Tubular Tyre - Which one for me?

Most experienced racing cyclists would agree that traditionally tubulars have been regarded as the faster of the two, but in recent years pressure has been on manufactures to produce equivalent performing clincher tyres, some now having performance equalling rolling resistance. Clincher are more practical in terms of changing a puncture and cheaper to run as they often need only a new inner tube after a puncture, where as a tubular tyre is usually discarded at great cost. The penalty paid by using clinchers is their weight compared to tubulars. This weight penalty applies to the actual wheel rims also, resulting in a combined wheel/tyre penalty of around 300g + per pair. This wont make much difference over flat terrain in time trials or most triathlons but in a hilly time trial or road race with more climbing and accelerating involved, tubulars are likely to be a better choice. Therefore your typical event will determine which is best for you.

Is Disc always faster?

In our opinion a disc wheel is always the faster choice for the rear, regardless of wind angle. In fact at certain yaw angles some well designed disc wheels like our own actually create negative drag which results in a slight forward push. There are typically no handling issues when using a disc as it is fixed in position with the majority of the riders weight over it, unlike the front wheel which pivots freely.

Why use wider rims?

Almost all of our wheels have been designed to use tyres of between 23mm to 25mm in width, as it has now been proven without doubt that they are faster at the speeds encountered by cyclists. This is due in part to their lower rolling resistance compared to traditional 20mm tyres over almost all road surfaces. The rougher a roads surface the greater a tyres rolling resistance will be. A narrower tyre has to distort more out of shape than a wider tyre, creating greater rolling resistance. All of our wheels rims are just over 27mm at there widest, regardless of depth and have a blunter rounded trailing edge. This allows the use of wider tyres without a combined resulting, tyre/rim lightbulb shape, which is bad news aerodynamically. A cross section through our tyre/rim profile reveals a more equally balanced shape which gives unsurpassed handling properties and enhanced aerodynamic performance in overall conditions. These are characteristics that more traditional narrow V shaped rims haven’t been able to achieve.

Aren't discs too harsh for long events such as Ironman

When using a solid flat type disc the answer is probable yes as they are so unforgiving in terms of road shock/vibration. An uncomfortable 100 miles + bike section isn’t the best prelude to a marathon. For this reason many competitors give up that all important aero advantage and compromise with a deep section rear. With our wave lenticular design disc this isn’t an issue as beneath all that carbon is an integrated spoked internal wheel. This results in a ride quality on par with our deep section spoked wheels that will carry you comfortably through your Ironman bike split. This could save you minutes for the same given effort. Handy going into that marathon.